Lake Park junior earns democracy scholarship

Tom Spencer, a junior at Lake Park High School, has been awarded a $500 scholarship and a plaque as the winner at the post of the Voice of Democracy Scholarship Program sponsored by Bloomingdale Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7539.

Spencer now is eligible to compete at the district level.

The competition is designed for high school students in grades nine through 12, including home-schooled students.

The program dates to 1946. Nationally, the VFW annually commits $3 million in scholarships and incentives at the post, district, state and national levels.

Participants write and record a three- to five-minute essay on a patriotic theme that changes each year. The 2016-17 theme is "My Responsibility to America."

The Voice of Democracy is endorsed by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and aims to foster patriotism in the participants and enhance their written and oral communication skills.